Kaisa
A feminine name of Finnish origin meaning "highest" or "supreme".
Name Census estimates that about 663 living Americans carry the first name Kaisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaisa today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaisa births was 2003 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaisa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
663
~ 1 in 516,975 Americans
Peak year
2003
25 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,658
Tracked since 1966
Census
Kaisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 700 people with the first name Kaisa, which placed it at #16,202 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,202
National first-name rank
People counted
700
700 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaisa is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Hispanic (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kaisa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kaisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.3% · 534
- Black or African American6.0% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 40
- Two or more races5.4% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Popularity
Kaisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaisa from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 191 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kaisa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaisa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kaisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaisas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Minnesota, Oregon, Washington recorded the most babies named Kaisa, while Washington, Oregon, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaisa
The name Kaisa originates from the Finnish language and has its roots in the medieval era. It is a feminine form of the name Kaisu, which is a shortened version of the name Katariina or Katharina, the Finnish and Swedish versions of the name Catherine.
Kaisa is believed to have been derived from the Greek name Aikaterine, which means "pure" or "unblemished." The name Catherine gained popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly after the cult of St. Catherine of Alexandria, a 4th-century Christian martyr, spread across the continent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaisa can be found in the Finnish epic poem Kalevala, which dates back to the 19th century. In the poem, Kaisa is mentioned as a character who represents the personification of the Finnish countryside.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kaisa. One of the most well-known was Kaisa Liisa Ikonen (1901-1972), a Finnish author and poet who wrote extensively about rural life in Finland. Her works, such as "Nälkävuodet" (The Years of Famine), provided a vivid portrayal of the hardships faced by Finnish peasants during the early 20th century.
Another notable Kaisa was Kaisa Parviainen (1774-1843), a Finnish soldier who fought in the Finnish War against Russia in 1808-1809. She is remembered for her bravery and commitment to defending her homeland, and her story has become part of Finnish folklore.
In the realm of sports, Kaisa Varis (born 1967) is a former Finnish cross-country skier who won several medals at the Winter Olympics and World Championships in the 1990s. Her achievements made her a national icon and inspired many young athletes in Finland.
The name Kaisa has also been associated with the arts, as exemplified by Kaisa Salmi (1913-1992), a Finnish sculptor and ceramist known for her modernist works. Her sculptures and ceramics can be found in various museums and public spaces throughout Finland.
Finally, Kaisa Leka (born 1976) is a contemporary Finnish singer and songwriter who has gained popularity for her unique blend of folk and pop music. Her albums, such as "Kaikki ne kauniit hetket" (All Those Beautiful Moments), have received critical acclaim and resonated with audiences across Finland.
People
Kaisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 663 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaisa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 516,975 US residents.
Is Kaisa a common name?
We classify Kaisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 682 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaisa was 2003, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaisa is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 700 people with the name Kaisa, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,202 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kaisa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kaisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaisa leans strongly female. 666 people counted with this name were female (95.1%), compared with 34 male bearers (4.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kaisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaisa is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Hispanic (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kaisa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (534 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kaisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaisa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kaisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaisa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kaisa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Kaisa?
You can see how many Americans are named Kaisa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.